


what if we kissed in the vent?

by coykoi



Category: Among Us (Video Game), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Among Us AU, F/M, Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Valentine’s Day, alternative title: the struggles of among us, fluff and fluff only, they are gamers your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coykoi/pseuds/coykoi
Summary: “Oh, shit.”pbparker was ejected.That was the first of many, many losses on his end.or: it’s valentine’s day and peter  still needs to come up with a romantic gesture for his girlfriend, but he has other things on his mind
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 30
Kudos: 47





	what if we kissed in the vent?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iovewords](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iovewords/gifts).



> this fic is exactly what u think it is. no questions at this time 
> 
> happy galentine’s day! 💖💖

“Oh, shit.”

_pbparker was ejected._

That was the first of many, many losses on his end.

* * *

“Aww, Pete, that’s so sweet. Is that what you’re going to be giving MJ for Valentine’s Day?” May asks as he walks into the apartment with an extravagant bouquet of roses in his hands. He blushes and shakes his head, knowing that it’s still a few days away and the last thing he wants to give her is a bouquet of wilting roses.

Not that he knows what he wants to give her. He hasn’t thought about it too hard because every time he starts to, his mind goes haywire and he finds himself on Tiffany and Co.—as if he can afford the smallest diamond on there. She deserves something heartfelt and meaningful, not something that’ll rip his wallet into next week.

“No, I got these from the nice lady that always gives me a churro. She said for all my efforts, I deserve some pretty flowers.” He shakes his head, smiling a bit as he places the roses in some water. “You can have them, May.”

“Aww, that’s very sweet of you.” She ruffles his hair, and he laughs. “Do you think you’re going to go out on patrol tonight, Pete?”

“Nah, I did that before school this morning. I think I’m just gonna do some, uh, homework, y’know?” he says, and she gives him a suspicious look, eyes narrowing, but he throws her an awkward thumb’s up before backing away into his bedroom.

He’s on the phone with Ned not even five minutes later, the two of them opening up their computers, headsets on.

“Dude, have you practiced? Please tell me you’ve practiced,” Ned urges. “Otherwise, we’re gonna get creamed. Again.”

“Listen, maybe I am the weak link between the two of us, but! That doesn’t mean I’m bad. I mean, I’m not _terrible_ , at least,” he scoffs, knowing he has indeed tried practicing with strangers. He’s tried looking up tutorials on how to play to win, but none have come through. Every time he’s been an imposter, a certain someone always seems to vote him out, and he hates that he hates them for it, but it is what it is. He’s competitive as fuck.

Ned sighs, typing the code in on his end, and they find themselves in a lobby with the group of people they typically play with. “If you say so.”

He does say so. 

* * *

Maybe he was wrong.

“Dude,” Ned groans, massaging his temple with his forefingers as his phone lies flat on the table in front of them. He gives Peter a dirty look, which feels a bit unfair considering he wasn’t the one who just got voted off, but sure. “Why are you so terrible at this game? I swear to god, we just played last night and you’ve gotten worse!”

It’s the next day, and they’re at lunch, once again wasting away precious time to play Among Us. It’s not their fault, really—the game is addicting and the satisfaction he gets from killing people is truly unparalleled. Other than when he saves lives, of course.

“What? Okay, first of all, that wasn’t my fault,” Peter says, blowing out a breath of indignance. He’d like to blame it on the group, a few strangers from the internet that he’s come to enjoy playing with—bar one, but that’s besides the point. “Everyone just...voted randomly that time. No one even said anything!”

“Because they all knew! You’re always so suspicious, and ironically, you’re a terrible liar during the game.” Ned clicks his tongue as he continues as an imposter now that Peter’s been ejected. “Why don’t you use some of those real-life skills of yours and lie through your teeth?”

“Was that a jab?”

Ned glances up and laughs slightly, shaking his head, but they both know it’s the truth. He’s gotten pretty good at lying with practice. “Only if you take it as one.”

“I would’ve won last time if it weren’t for purple. God, I hate purple,” Peter sighs, resting his head in his arms. It’s purple that votes him as imposter, and they’re always right. He wonders how they’re so good at seeing through his lies, or if he’s really just as transparent as Ned says. 

“I mean, we could always switch groups if you’re that upset,” Ned suggests, but he shakes his head. No, he’s going to win a game against purple if it’s the last thing he ever does. Dramatic? Maybe so. But a little rivalry, friendly or not, has never hurt anyone.

“No way. I like everyone else.” He watches as Ned continues to kill the crewmates on his own, slicing right through the eye of someone named SpideysBiggestFan. “Hey, now. You should’ve spared them.”

“Why? Because they have taste?” Ned rolls his eyes, pops in a vent, and hides until a meeting is called. Probably a bad move to go without any alibis, but he somehow makes it to the next round as almost everyone else has voted off someone named Brad.

Brad, the occasional asshole who always points fingers at everyone and acts like a third imposter half the time, so Peter thinks it’s well-deserved. He doesn’t feel bad, and it’s one step closer to him and Ned winning.

Of course, the luck doesn’t last as purple, once again, hits the nail on the head during the next meeting and gets Ned voted off rather easily. The crewmates win, which is very unfortunate. But also not surprising since Peter seems to doom anyone he’s partnered with.

“Play again?” Peter asks anyway with his mouth full as he takes a bite of his sandwich before abandoning his lunch again. He’s not exactly hungry for anything right now except revenge—he has to laugh.

“Already got the lobby ready,” Ned says, opening the menu to change his hat to the egg, but Peter sticks with his science goggles. He gets attached to his hats and most likely will never change it for the next six months or so.

Just as they’re about to start the next round, Peter sits up, his seventh sense going off. He calls it his MJ sense, seeing her walk into the cafeteria. Straightening in his seat, he catches her eyes, smirking a bit when she flips him off and approaches.

“Hey, MJ,” he greets, feeling lighter and less bitter already when she gives him a small smile, slipping her phone in her back pocket. His heartbeat increases tenfold in his chest. “I missed you.”

“You just saw me last period, loser,” she hums but looks pleased anyway.

Peter shrugs. “I miss you all the time.”

“Are we playing, or are we just gonna lose the lobby?” Ned groans, dropping his head into his arms. Michelle peers over their shoulders, eyes lighting up in amusement when she sees their screens.

“Dorks. Is this all you do in your free time?”

“I’ll have you know, it is _exactly_ all we do in our free time,” Peter says with a grin, and she rolls her eyes, leaning down and draping her arms around each of their necks. “You should play with us. We’ll teach you how.”

“Yeah, I bet you’d be a way better player than Peter,” Ned chimes in.

“Okay, now listen—”

“Oh, I know I would,” she says, and Peter huffs out a small chuckle because it’s more than likely true. His disappointment reigns back in again though as she continues with, “but I have some library work that needs to be done today. I’ll see you both at decathlon, though.”

“Okay. See you later,” Peter calls after her, holding onto her hand as long as he can before they’re too far away to touch. He smiles to himself before turning back to his phone, finding that they have indeed lost the lobby. “Oops. My bad.”

“You guys.” Ned shakes his head in faux annoyance, yet still smiling fondly, before booting the lobby back up again, and Peter logs on, finding himself standing as far away from purple as he can get. Is he petty? Maybe. Yes.

“Hey, Ned. Do you have any suggestions of what I should get MJ for Valentine’s Day?” Peter suddenly asks, knowing that his best friend surely has some tips as the love guru, or whatever he calls himself. “I was thinking, like, maybe I could invite her over and cook her dinner, but then—does that make me seem cheap? Instead of taking her out? I don’t want her to think...”

“I’m sure she’ll love whatever you give her, considering the way two of you are,” Ned says and then breathes out a sigh of relief a moment later.

Peter looks at his screen and feels the opposite.

_Imposter_.

He bites his tongue, not just because he’s an imposter again, but because he’s an imposter with purple—the one called BlackDahlia. But at least they’re on the same team for once. Maybe they could even carry him to victory since they’re obviously better at the game than he is.

Peter kills BBReports first because they were the one to press the emergency button last time and called the meeting that got him ejected. Quickly hopping into a vent and finding himself in Electrical, he waits a moment before getting out. 

Unfortunately for him, it’s that moment when BlackDahlia and Ned come in together, his friend clearly seeing him vent if the audible gasp is any indication.

But BlackDahlia kills Ned pretty quickly before hopping into the vent, Peter following. They make it to admin together, wait until the cooldown wears off, and he thinks it would be nice if they could get a double kill. The dream move for the dream team—as if. There are two people that come into admin: SpideysBiggestFan and SilkyCin. The perfect opportunity.

BlackDahlia is thinking the same thing as he is, quickly snapping SilkyCin’s neck. But then Peter panics when SpideysBiggestFan starts running towards the cafeteria and instead of moving the joystick, he hits the report button himself.

It’s truly a _wonder_ that he hasn’t won a game as an imposter yet.

**SpideysBiggestFan:** _ITS BLACKDAHLIA AND PBPARKER! ! I SWEARRFV_

**BlackDahlia:** _no? it wasn’t me._

**pbparker:** _me neither_

**SpideysBiggestFan:** _THEYRE LYING I SAW!! SELF REPORT!!!_

**BlackDahlia:** _pretty sus that you’re claiming self report when you were the last one seen with cin._

**pbparker:** _yeah maybe u killed white cuz i saw u runnin. nice try tho_

**SpideysBiggestFan:** _OH MY GOD DO YOU HEAR THIS THEYRE IN KAHOOTS!! GUYS_

_SpideysBiggestFan was ejected._

Peter lets out a sigh of relief, smirking slightly, wondering how they got away with that. He goes over to Weapons, fakes doing asteroids for a minute too long, and heads down to O2 just as it’s sabotaged.

They only need two more kills, so Peter waits patiently with a small smile on his face because this is the closest he’s been to winning and it feels good. All it took was for purple to stop voting him out. Go figure.

The first one to walk into O2 is Gwendy, and Peter almost feels bad killing her with a quick neck snap, but at least her death is fast and painless. Unfortunately for him, Brad and HarryOs come in, followed by BlackDahlia. He knows that it looks bad standing over the body, but he’s hoping his partner will come through and save him. Somehow.

**Brad:** _doesnt look too good for you pb_

**HarryOs:** _shouldve listened to spideys. its always the ones you suspect the most_

**pbparker:** _I know this looks bad but also? I’m innocent_

Peter can hear Ned snort from across the table and silently hopes that BlackDahlia will back him up here. Except, they’re ruthless with tactics, fueling the rivalry, and they’re clearly a much better player than he is when they have the guts to backstab him anyway.

**BlackDahlia:** _parker is always pretty sus. i did not see anything but i would not be surprised._

**Brad:** _youre pretty sus yourself there dahlia_

**BlackDahlia:** _i was with you guys the whole time and couldve killed but didnt. if you want you can vote me out after parker._

**HarryOs:** _fair enough_

_pbparker was ejected._

“Damn. Brutal,” Ned says with a slight smirk as Peter groans, sitting back in his chair and dropping his phone flat on the table. “You deserved that, by the way.”

“I wasn’t the one who killed you,” Peter responds with a huff, watching as Brad hovers near the emergency button. But then BlackDahlia sabotages real quick and ends up killing HarryOs in one fell swoop near the reactor.

“Hey, look at that! You won your first game as imposter,” Ned cheers, giving slow claps, and Peter glares at him. 

“Thanks, but I still died. If purple hadn’t—” He shakes his head, knowing a win is a win even if his partner betrayed him. Yeah, this is a vendetta. Maybe even war. “If Dahlia would’ve skipped instead of voting for me, then I wouldn’t have been ejected.”

“Someone sounds bitter.”

“I’m not bitter!”

Peter’s not bitter. Not at all. It’s not like he slouches around for the rest of the day, or ignores the way Ned offers him some fruit snacks in condolence, or talks smack about a certain player to a certain girlfriend who kindly lends her ear at the end of their decathlon meeting.

Michelle merely pats him on the shoulder and says, “Maybe if you channel some of that competitiveness into decathlon, we might win again next year.”

* * *

  
“Just one?”

“Actually, can I get two?” Peter hands over some more money, receiving another flower in return, the black petals glistening in the sunlight. He twirls the stem between his fingers and smiles.

“And why’d you pick these out, son? They mean something special to you?” The older man asks, the kindness radiating in his eyes from behind his glasses.

“Um. I just thought they were pretty,” he mumbles with a sheepish laugh, but he hopes she’ll like them. They were in the front window of the store, and something told him ‘those ones. yes, those are the ones for her’.

“Well, not everyone goes for flowers like these, so I’m glad you’re showing them some love,” he says, Peter grinning in response. He walks out of the store, more than pleased with his purchase.

Michelle is supposed to be coming over for dinner that pre-Valentine’s Day evening, per May and Ned’s suggestions, so he’s going to cook her favorite meal and give her some flowers. 

Yes, he still has to come up with an idea for an actual gift, but he has twelve hours. Last minute he is, but late he will not be. He’ll think of something for sure.

May helps him clean up a bit, and it’s not perfect at all. His dress shirt is too large, except around the shoulders, and his pants are too tight. He knows he’s being a little too _formal_ -formal for what’s supposed to be a casual dinner, but this is Michelle. He wants it to be special—she deserves special.

“Hon, why don’t you just change into more comfortable clothes? I’m sure MJ will understand that you don’t own anything nice that fits,” May says, and he huffs petulantly. She’s right, but still.

Peter’s in the middle of hopping with one leg shoved in his sweatpants and a toothbrush between his teeth when the doorbell rings. He has a momentary meltdown, quickly recovers, and then swings the door open to her standing there with a bag clutched in her hands.

“Hi,” he says, breathless. She looks so pretty, and here he is in sweats.

“Hey, yourself.” Michelle tucks a curl behind her ear, her smile a bit shy, and if he pulls her in to kiss her gently right there, neither of them resist. “You gonna let me in, or shall we stand out here all night?”

“Yeah, come in, come in.” He silently frets about a lot of things as she walks inside, him following behind. Her and May start to engage in a conversation, which gives him time to grab the flowers he’d bought from the vase he also bought. “Hey, MJ? I…”

Michelle turns around after finishing her sentence, her eyes quickly falling on the flowers in his hands. She inhales sharply, gaze questioning and lips curling fondly. “Pete?”

“I got these for you, and I really hope you like them. You’ve never told me your favorite flower, but they were just in the shop window and I thought...yeah, these would be perfect for my girl,” he says softly, hearing his heart pounding in his ears. His palms are clammy, and he feels so nervous. For what? No idea.

“Those _are_ my favorite flowers,” she admits with a quiet laugh, and his smile widens, relieved. Maybe it was a lucky guess, or simply intuition, but this is a good indication of how the night’s gonna go. “The black dahlia.”

“Yeah, the black—” He pauses. “Wait, the black dahlia is your favorite flower?”

“I’m honestly surprised you don’t know this, Peter.” Michelle smirks a little, and he has to stop, rewind, put the pieces together right as she gives them to him. “It’s my favorite movie, too. The murder?”

“The murder? The bl—you—?”

“What about it, Parker?”

“You’re...oh, my god. You’ve been playing us this whole time,” Peter realizes, shocked, and then he remembers how many times he’s complained about her to her face. Embarrassing. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!”

“Bold words for someone who likes to keep secrets,” Michelle casually responds, and he winces. True. He did keep a large part of his identity a secret from her for years. “Anyway, it was more fun this way. I loved seeing you rage-quit.”

“I am so...in awe. You’re so fucking good at the game, Em,” he murmurs, putting the flowers down to grab her hands. He doesn’t even care that he’s hated purple for so long—it’s MJ. It’s perfect. “Ned’s gonna flip if I tell him.”

“Let him figure it out on his own,” she whispers against his lips when he leans up a bit, giving her a small kiss. “A little friendly rivalry, right?”

“Maybe not so friendly,” he hums, pulling her flush against him so that he can kiss her again, one hand cupping her cheek and the other brushing her waist. She kisses him back, hard and soft all at once, and she always gives him a rush that even rivals killing Brad. “You know what they say. Couples who play together stay together.”

“You’ve been talking shit about me this whole time. I think that saying is outdated,” Michelle teases, and he smiles, flushing. “Who would’ve known you radiate ‘sore loser’ on your off days?”

“Less sore now that I know it’s you. Of course I’d lose to you. You’re amazing.”

“Well, now you’re just sucking up so as to not be in the doghouse,” she snorts, pushing him back slightly, and he laughs. “Should we play a few rounds?”

“Oh, it would be an _honor_ ,” he drawls, grinning, and he tugs her back into his bedroom. They settle on the bed together, knees touching, Peter feeling incredibly warm and giddy when they’re both imposters again, like the universe thinks it’s meant to be.

“You think you can not get ejected within the first round, Parker?” Michelle hums, leaning against him to see his screen.

“If you’re nice to me, I won’t.” He absently presses a kiss to her head. “We’re the dream team, remember? We would’ve won together last time if it weren’t for you being mean.”

“What can I say? You make it easy.”

A few moments pass, and they both find themselves in Electrical again after a double-kill, Peter looking around before smirking slightly. “Hey, Em. You know that trope where there’s only one bed?” She looks at him, brows raised. He blushes a bit, smiling. “Well. There’s only one vent.”

“Your point being?”

“You know what imposters do in the vents?” Peter leans in closer to her, pecking her cheek lightly and is entirely satisfied when her lips curl into a reluctant smile. “They kiss.”

Michelle looks dumbstruck for a moment, blinking slowly, before schooling her expression into something unimpressed and the next thing he knows, an emergency meeting is called. 

Really, he should’ve seen this coming.

_pbparker was ejected._

* * *

“Parker! What in the world are you doing here so early?” Morita marches over to him, and Peter grimaces, realizing that maybe he should’ve showed up at a different time so as to not get caught. There’s a stern look in the principal’s expression. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Sorry, sir. It’s just, you know, it’s Valentine’s Day.” He gestures to his work of art, which isn’t even vandalism, so he doesn’t know why the principal is freaking out. “And I wanted to do something special.”

Morita glances at the door, absolutely flabbergasted as if he doesn’t understand how this could possibly be romantic. “Okay? Well, I don’t know why you had to do it here and now...but I’ll tolerate it as long as you take it down before school starts.” He turns to walk away, muttering something that suspiciously sounds like ‘I’ll never understand Gen Zs’.

To be fair, it’s five in the morning. That means Peter has two hours. There’s nothing more romantic than making your girlfriend get up early and high-tail it to the high school hours before she needs to. Her expression says so.

“This better be worth my time, Parker,” Michelle grumbles under her breath, rubbing her eyes.

“Sorry, MJ. I just...happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmurs, holding her by the shoulders to face the door. She blinks, still half-asleep, and then her eyes crinkle around the corners when her lips curl softly. “Just wanted to tell you how much I love you. And, no, I am not a sensible person who could’ve done it later.”

“You’re such a...dork. This is so nice. You really put in the effort for a gesture you’ll have to take down in a little bit?” She looks at him with a fond smile.

“Worth it. Entirely worth it. I also...I got you this…” Peter swallows, his nerves not getting the best of him for once as he pulls the box from his pocket. She eyes him curiously but releases a quiet ‘oh’ when he opens it for her. “I had it made right after you left last night.”

“The black dahlia. You got a necklace made?” Her eyes are watery, and his hands are shaking slightly with extra care as he puts it around her neck. She places her palm over the glass flower. “I love it. Thank you so much. Matches my online persona.”

“As it should.” He tilts her chin down slightly to kiss her. “I’ll say it again. I’ll say it as many times as you want to hear it.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Peter drapes an arm around her shoulder as they both take a long, good look at his beautiful piece of art. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Em.”

The door is somehow the most heartfelt valentine he’s ever made.

_You can’t spell sus without us_.

**Author's Note:**

> don’t look at me lmaooo
> 
> picture via @alph4omeg4 on twitter 
> 
> i’m on tumblr @coykoii :)


End file.
